Illinois Earthquake is a Wake-Up Call

Not about surveying, but cool nonetheless. I'm impressed by the way the USGS responded: tons of information. If you click on the second link below and select the Maps tab, they've got a great collection of maps:

Today’s early morning earthquake that jolted many in the central U.S. is a reminder that seismic events do occur in areas not normally thought of as “earthquake country.” It is also a lesson that earthquakes east of the Mississippi River are felt more widely than those in the west. This event was felt as far west as Kansas, as far north as the Upper Michigan, and as far south as Georgia.

“Earthquakes of comparable size are felt over greater distances in the East than those occurring in the West,” said Harley Benz, seismologist for the USGS. “Earthquakes in the central U.S. are infrequent, but not unexpected.”

The preliminary magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred at 4:37 am Central Daylight Time and was centered about 38 miles north-northwest of Evansville, IN or 128 miles east of St. Louis, MO. It occurred in an area known seismically as the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. Today’s event is the strongest earthquake in southern Illinois since November 1968, when a 5.4 earthquake occurred.

On Monday, April 21, the USGS will be issuing updated earthquake hazard assessment maps for the entire U.S. The information on these maps is used to update building codes.

Classified as “moderate,” today’s event caused some damage and was followed by aftershocks, the largest a M4.6 that occurred at 10:15 am Central Daylight Time. Of much greater concern, however, is the potential for the adjacent New Madrid seismic zone to generate severe earthquakes. During the winter of 1811-1812, a series of three very large earthquakes -- the strongest earthquakes to strike the lower 48 states during historic times -- devastated the area and were felt throughout most of the nation.

Occurring only a few weeks apart on Dec. 16, Jan. 13, and Feb. 7, they generated hundreds of aftershocks, some severely damaging by themselves, which continued for years.

Building codes used in the region incorporate a significant degree of risk from earthquakes, but many buildings constructed before these codes were in place or updated have not been adequately retrofitted.

USGS research into ground shaking is used by building officials to update building codes based on the most up-to-date information. As new buildings replace older, more dangerous structures, death tolls from earthquakes have been significantly reduced in the U.S.

Did you feel this earthquake? You can report your experiences on:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/

More information on this event and the history of the region is found on:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/us2008qza6.php

Download an interview about this earthquake with USGS seismologist Harley Benz. You can find it on:
http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ID=72

About USGS
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
by Bruce Pierce, PLS

One typical day you are at your office doing what you do best, and things seem to be going good. Your staff is working hard and the work is piling up around you faster than you can get it done. This is a scenario that we as professionals in the surveying/civil engineering business pray for and even thrive on. The phone rings and you pick it up anticipating that whoever is on the other end is sending more work your way, but then the whole mood changes instantly when you here a voice familiar to you say the worst case scenario. “I have done something bad and I am in trouble. I have turned in a map with your name and seal on it to the City of Walnut Creek”. A million questions go through my mind instantly trying desperately to make sense out of what I had just heard. I grab my pencil and noted the time and started writing down the facts as they were conveyed to me. The person on the other end of this conversation was William Randolph III, a person that I had met May 31, 2000. This is how my day ended on April 19, 2004 and the beginning of the worst case scenario.
In May 2000 the company I worked for (The Keith Companies) had a contract with N.I.M.A. (National Imagery and Mapping Agency) to do “Safety and Navigation Surveys” for two military air force bases in the state of Washington. The first was McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma, and the second was Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane. One of the requirements of the contract was to hire a minority owned business to take part in the work. The Keith Companies choose Geotopo out of Oakland; CA. Mr. Randolph, an unlicensed chainman, was put on a plane to meet us at the Seattle airport. The team met on May 31, 2000 and work began.
We had two weeks to complete the assignment for both air bases, so the work assignments were given out amongst the team and we set out to do our tasks early the next morning. Mr. Randolph’s assignment was to help place very large aerial targets for a 12000’ altitude flight around the cities for the aerial mapping portion of the deliverables. The targets were to be set and later have static gps sessions run on the entire target network. William took on his task with enthusiasm and confidence. He worked some long hours in the following weeks to help us meet our target deadline. The project in all accounts went very well with only a few surprises. At the end of two weeks we said our good byes, pleased with what we had accomplished. However, little did I know what was working in the mind of someone I thought was another new found friend.
Sometime after William Randolph returned home he returned to his job in Oakland doing surveying and mapping for Wiley Pierce, the owner of Geotopo. William had decided to take on some side work to supplement his income. William had confronted his boss to inform him of his intentions. Wiley instructed him that was not a wise decision since he was not a licensed land surveyor and doing so would put him in a very risky position. William chose not to take the warning seriously and started to do whatever work he solicited under the business name of R.A.M. Engineering.
From June 2000 to April 2004 William was performing surveys full time under his new founded company. He had quit his employment with Geotopo and was engaged in what he thought was the mother lode of surveying. Times were good and the work was coming to him. He was selling himself as a surveyor at whatever the market would bear for his services.
The way that he stayed under the radar was that he was using my name, Bruce A. Pierce; PLS. on his surveys without my knowledge. William had figured that since he had worked for Wiley Pierce, my name, being the same spelling, would slide right through the system since the Pierce name is all around the Oakland and Bay area. However, William made one big mistake that later became the key to his undoing. He had transposed the number on my license to be 5760 rather than 7560. He had also misrepresented the correct expiration date. Although this is all public information, William did not do thorough research before he ventured out to make his fortune.
William was doing survey work all over the central California area, across county lines and different towns and cities. He was willing to go where ever there was a buck to be made. After all it wasn’t his name on the maps he was doing. What did he have to lose?
One day just prior to April 19, 2004, the exact date is unsure, William was doing a Tentative Parcel Map in the City of Walnut Creek. He had finished the survey and prepared the map. The City of Walnut Creek like many cities require a signature of a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer licensed prior to June 1982. William boldly put the required Surveyor’s Statement on the map with my name and seal attached. He forged the signature and prepared the map for submittal to the City of Walnut Creek.
A few days latter the Tentative Parcel Map was checked by the city officials. During the checking process, as part of the Cities regular check the name of the surveyor of record was checked and found that the license number and name did not match the States database for licensed land surveyors. The City official immediately notified the Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. He had also sent a FAX of the signature in question to the Board. By the act of doing his job thoroughly the City official started in motion the process that would eventually be William Randolph’s undoing and the end of R.A.M. Engineering. The last thing that the City was required to do was to notify the engineering firm that submitted the map and the developer of the project to alert them of their findings. This act by the City caused William to contact me prior to the City making contact with me.
On April 19, 2004 I received that dreadful call from William. He had committed an unpardonable sin that would haunt him for a very long time. Immediately the anger and frustration in me began to come to the surface. After William had told the unbelievable facts he awaited my response. After a moment of silence, I had to ask him “why would you do this to someone? His response was cold and unfeeling as they come. “To make more money”, he said. At that moment I knew I was dealing with a cold calculating criminal that I had seriously underestimated. My response was that “the only thing keeping me from seriously hurting you is the distance between us”. There was one statement that William had made that seemed to burn in my memory. He said that he had made an AutoCad drawing of my seal along with some others so he could use them as needed. This did not set well with me. The question that was never answered in my mind was, are there other surveyors out there that have had the same sick crime committed against them without their knowledge? The conversation after that was short. He said that he wanted to call me first before the City of Walnut Creek contacted me. He had the guts, gall, fortitude, whatever you want to label it to ask me how “we” were going to fix this. My response and last words to him was “I am going to report you to the Board of Registration and file a case to take you down”.
The very next morning I made a call to the Board of Registration to start in motion what I thought would be a very straight forward and simple case. I wanted to make sure that I did what was needed to insure a quick and complete submittal. The person on the phone gave me precise instructions that I followed exactly and made my submission.
The next six days were filled with phone calls to all the people that needed to be contacted by me or calls to me from the City of Walnut Creek. I made a phone log of the time and date of every conversation, and any pertinent information. By doing this simple act later became a key in my defense case and the very core of disputing any erroneous facts that came up in the investigation. Williams’s client even called me to discuss the ramifications of this very serious situation. He had to go through the motions in his mind to find out how he was going to solve the problem of William stealing several thousands of dollars and putting him at an extreme risk. After all the calls and emotions were settled the only thing left to do was wait for the Board of Registration to do their job and prosecute the accused.
At this point I had no way of knowing how many maps William had filed or what type of maps he had done. Were any of them recorded? Were there other land surveyors involved in this sick act of fraud? All these questions came to the surface and no way to find the answers. The only hope was possibly to contact the CLSA (California Land Surveyor’s Association) board and ask for their help. It so happened that the CLSA board was going to have a regular scheduled meeting in the City of Ontario, CA. the very next week. I was asked by the acting President of the State CLSA to attend the meeting and present this case before the attending members that represent the entire State of California. As the story unfolded before them I saw the shock and disbelief in their faces. At the end of my presentation there were a few questions asked and representatives of the Bay Area stepped up to volunteer to look for maps that had been filed with my name on them and pull them from the system as invalid. My hopes were high that something would show up that would give me a hope of stopping this criminal from doing any future damage to my reputation. At this point William was still out there working and doing whatever he desired till someone stopped him. So it was imperative that I get as many maps out of the system as possible and hope that the Board of Registration would launch an investigation and arrest William.
Time marched on without any notification from the Board of Registration as to the progress of the case. I made a few follow up calls to inquire as to the status. I had to leave messages without any return. I made follow up calls to the representative of the Bay Area CLSA to inquire about the map status. Again I had to leave messages without any return. This was beginning to look hopeless and a complete waste of time. I was starting to think that this system that was put in place to protect the public was doing nothing to protect me. Two years went by before I was contacted by the Department of Investigation. The investigator took my statement and compared the information with what I had submitted to the Board of Registration. They asked me to supply my signature and seal as it would appear on any official map, plat or legal description. However this call was encouraging it was just one step in a long line of things to investigate. The sad thing was that this case sat idle for two years before it was picked up. It was like pouring salt into an open wound. I had to remember and relive the whole process all over again because of the long delay.
In March 2007 I received a letter from the Contra Costa County Probation Department stating that they were currently investigating the crime of Grand Theft/Forgery against William Randolph. They asked me to fill out a form and provide them with information of any financial loss and the emotional impact due to the incident. This seems like a simple statement but really has many twists to it. William’s act of fraud has placed me along with my family in the center of an emotional rollercoaster. It was not that this was a one time action of poor judgment, but a long term repeated offence of which I am only one of the victims. I have lived with the constant uncertainty of how many maps bear my name, for which I am liable. While I may be able to defend myself as a victim of fraud, I can never undo the damage to my name and integrity that William Randolph has caused.
Finally in September I received a subpoena for a court appearance in Lawrence, California. The investigation had finally been completed and turned over to the District Attorney of Contra Costa County. The DA made contact with me to make arrangements for my travel to beautiful downtown Lawrence. The reason for the court appearance was only because William refused to plea guilty of a felony crime. The DA had no choice but to call me in.
I was flown to Oakland Airport and back to Ontario Airport in one day. The court hearing was fast and furious. After my testimony and all the others were said and done it came down to the jury to decide William’s fate. On September 24, 2007 the jury came forth with guilty of forgery a felony conviction.
Sentencing was set for October 23, 2007. The following is the list of the conditions of William’s sentence:
3 years probation
120 days of consecutive jail time
Subject to 24 hour search and seizure
Restitution to me for my financial losses
Restitution to all his clients he had taken money from
Can never own or possess a firearm
The last one has me curious, but it does not matter. The good thing is that the court system finally prevailed and got the job done even at a snails pace. It took 3 ½ years to complete this rollercoaster ride. I guess the important thing to remember is that this can happen to any professional at any time. One can never be too careful with what we say and who we meet.

March articles posted

Editorial: The Need for Speed Hard-wired into human nature is a fascination for speed—we like to go fast. In our March 2007 issue I wrote about FARO, a German laser company that had recently entered the U.S. market with their laser scanner. We visited their factory in Stuttgart, and along the way, took advantage of the opportunity to do some ....Read the Article

Point to Point: Waypoint Descriptions It was only a matter of time, and we shouldn't be surprised, really. A couple of years ago in Monroe County, Wisconsin, someone transferred a tract of land described in the main using "waypoints" of latitude and longitude coordinates. Some have surmised that a handheld GPS receiver was....Read the Article

CyArk at Mesa Verde: Using Lasers to Help Save History When the CyArk team was asked to fly to Mesa Verde National Park for an on-location shoot for PBS's WIRED Science, they brought the scanner along as a "prop" for the show. Upon arriving at the park it became clear that the National Park Service was ... " Read the Article

Conference Review: Trimble Dimensions 2007 I'm sitting at a table with one Uzbekistani and a bunch of Russians; the one seated next to me is named Vladimir. Ethereal blue patterns wheel softly across the ceiling of the cavernous dining hall and the chairs we sit in are swathed in shimmery fabric. During the course of our meal, a couple thousand of us are entertained by...Read the Article

RTN-­101: RTN Cheat Sheets (Part 11) There you stand in the elements, satellites above, new rover in hand, batteries charged, and a new bag of sunflower seeds. Then KA-fizzle! Nothing is working! In a perfect world you should be able to press a button or two and then start gathering high precision positions with ....Read the Article

Illegal Fences of the Great Plains One of the unforeseen downfalls of having the remote regions of the plains states quickly surveyed by the General Land Office was the slow migration of settlement that came to certain areas. In areas such as the Sandhills region of central Nebraska the GLO completed the...Read the Article

Equipment Review: Leica System 1200 (Part 1 of 2) Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor once said, "You've got a jet engine and you've got a riding lawn mower. It was only a matter of time until someone put those two together." Jet-powered riding lawn mowers notwithstanding, many of the new technological developments going on around us are built on nothing more than ...Read the Article

Survey Reports: Preparing a Survey Report In my previous article [February 2008], I discussed reporting opinions on the location of corners and boundaries. In this article, I will discuss how surveyors can communicate encroachments, gaps and overlaps in a survey report. Major encroachments and overlaps are ...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Insure and Regulate—­Elevation Matters
I receive a lot of e-mails and calls from surveyors and others working in floodplains. From the gist of their questions there seems to be little understanding that just because a structure is constructed in compliance with technical regulations does not mean that it will be exempted from...Read the Article

Uganda: 'Quack Surveyors Fueling Land Conflicts'

The Monitor (Kampala)
24 March 2008
Yasiin Mugerwa
Parliament

The ongoing landing land conflicts in the country have been blamed on the increased number of unqualified land surveyors who have deliberately failed to adhere to professional standards.

Addressing journalists in Kampala on Thursday, Mr John Musungu, the Chairman of Surveyors Registration Board - a government regulatory body charged with the professional registration of surveyors, said 99 per cent of land conflicts are sparked off by unregistered surveyors.

"We are concerned because improper surveys have exacerbated land conflicts in many different parts of the country and has sometimes resulted into bloodshed," Mr Musungu said.

"Mistakes are done during boundary openings and the problem is serious due to increased number of 'undercover' surveyors."

The government's remarks come after various surveyors, mainly Makerere University graduates, accused the board of not considering them even after they have fulfilled the registration requirements.

Mr Joseph Serunjogi alleged that after graduating in 2000 from Makerere University and applying for registration twice with "all the requirements," his application was rejected by the board.

Dr Mukiibi Katende, the head of the Land Surveying department at Makerere University said Uganda has produced over 650 graduates of land surveying since 1994, when the first batch of the four-year course graduated.

He said the university produces an average of 40 graduates annually.

Kaddu Mugerwa, another unregistered surveyor, said majority of the surveyors are unregistered. He alleged that at times, the board threatens to deregister companies or individuals who act as referees to new applicants.

But Mr Musungu said; "As regulators, it will be unfit for us to send dangerous people to the public."

"We can not give certificates to people without experience. The problem of land conflicts is already at the extreme because of inexperienced surveyors and that's why we are going to clamp down on them. We have procedures and they should be followed," he added.

Mr Musungu explained that for one to become a registered surveyor, he or she must have worked for two years. They must also have done survey work supervised by a registered firm.

"It's not a matter of having a degree. We have procedures to follow before one is registered. One must be a member of the Institute of Surveyors of Uganda, graduate of surveying and practiced in the field for two years under the supervision of a registered. We only approve those who meet these requirements," Mr Musungu said.

The government is drafting a new bill seeking to amend the Surveyors Registration Act that will empower the Institute of Surveyors of Uganda to set special exams for surveyors.

"If we are to curb land conflicts, there should be no short cuts to quality and this is the same practice in Kenya and Tanzania. One can only pass these exams when he or she has the required experience," Mr Cyprian Inyanga, one of the Board members said.

Commenting on number of registered surveyors, Mr Musungu said out of the 650, only 56 are registered members of the Institute of Surveyors of Uganda, a professional body for surveyors in the country.

The Need for Speed

Hard-wired into human nature is a fascination for speed—we like to go fast. In our March 2007 issue I wrote about FARO, a German laser company that had recently entered the U.S. market with their laser scanner. We visited their factory in Stuttgart, and along the way, took advantage of the opportunity to do some legal high-speed driving (140mph) on the Autobahn..

A couple of weeks ago, FARO capitalized on “speed” by staging a press event at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Disney World in Orlando. The star of the show was FARO’s latest scanner, the Photon. I thought it was cool that in their “drive” for accuracy, reliability and repeatability, FARO chases every micron.

The new Photon has several improvements: faster scans with 200 percent better positional accuracy, 300 percent less “noise”, and an improved color overlay that uses a high-rez digital camera, all resulting in crisper scans with greater clarity. FARO has improved the optics, angle encoders, and underlying electronics. The electronic improvement yields twice the power at the same eye-safeness, and 1.4 times the range in sunlight. New to the Photon is its iPod controller, wireless capability and a six-hour battery that fits under the tribrach. You can read more about the new Photon HERE

Another “direct relationship” that played out at the press conference was one between my hands and the steering wheel of a 600hp NASCAR vehicle! Strapped in from the head down, the Richard Petty Driving Experience allows you to get behind the wheel and follow a pace car driven by a professional driver. The object is to stay three car lengths behind him. If you can manage that, he continually picks up speed. Those who don’t feel up to driving alone can opt for a ride-along with a professional driver. The ride-alongs hit speeds of 140-145mph, while the drive alone option is generally 20-25mph slower.

Sure enough, my best lap was just short of 120mph. When I exited the vehicle my hands were shaking, not from fear, but from the extreme concentration required to maintain the measured distance behind the pro (and my desire to not hit the wall). Unlike the smooth-running car we had driven on the Autobahn, the NASCAR vehicles are not easy to drive. I came away with a new measure of respect for the skill of the NASCAR drivers who draft each others bumpers at nearly 200mph.

Yes, we like to go fast. Our need for speed spurs the growth of new technology. And while our technology would make our predecessor’s heads spin, we also enjoy reading about the days when surveyors wore spurs!

February Articles Posted

Editorial: Competence and the State of Education Last year in my July/Aug editorial I included some text written by Dick Elgin about the state of education for young surveyors. Canadian surveyor and educator Barry Kavanagh responded with a letter to the editor and promised to follow up with an article. You'll find his article in this issue ....Read the Article

Point to Point: The HSA Advantage There are few surveyors who are excited by the prospect of discussing insurance of any form, and health insurance in particular. I count myself among that group. Nevertheless, something has happened in the last few years of which you should be aware, but....Read the Article

A Private VRS Network Takes the Strain Out of Phoenix Surveying "I used to figure one person in the office to keep up with one survey crew. But now it takes me, a receptionist and two draftsmen to keep up with one crew. If I added another ... "Read the Article

Laser Scanning: DARPA Urban Challenge The final round of the DARPA Urban Challenge took place on Saturday, November 3, 2007 at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, California, now used by the military to train for urban operations. On the high desert northeast of Los Angeles, 11 cars bristling with...Read the Article

Worried About The Future of Surveying? Not a problem in Florida! In my July/August 2007 editorial I wrote about a challenge that continually lies before us: attracting young people into surveying. Shortly after the magazine came out, I received a call from Marilyn Evers, the executive director of the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society (FSMS). She ....Read the Article

Education in Crisis—The Elephant That No One Sees With all due respect to Dr. Richard Elgin, who wrote the original piece ["The Demise of Basic Surveying Mathematics," May 2007], and editor Marc Cheves who commented on the same problem in his July/August 2007 editorial, I think their take on...Read the Article

Distance Learning: Something For Everybody In surveying circles, it seems that when someone mentions continuing education (CE), somehow the word "mandatory" gets attached to it. Unfortunately, many surveyors tend to view mandatory continuing education as some sort of taboo. In some states CE is a ...Read the Article

Survey Reports: Preparing a Survey Report--The Focus - Part 1 Some states require survey reports. All surveyors should consider preparing survey reports at the culmination of a retracement survey. Unfortunately, the preparation of a survey report is not covered in most academic programs and is seldom adequately explained in ...Read the Article

Campus GIS Will Improve Public Safety at LSU It's 0-dark 30. You need to find the underground gas valve that controls service to a burning building and the two closest fire hydrants ­right now. On some college campuses that would mean getting the facilities manager out of...Read the Article

Test Yourself #22 On an X, Y, Z orthogonal coordinate system, suppose an Archilochus colubris leaves coordinates 20, 5, 0 (X:Y:Z) moving in the plus Z direction at a speed of 4.628 feet per minute for 2.111 minutes. Then the Archilochus colubris changes...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Walking the Line In the fall of my junior year of high school, unionized teachers in my school district went on strike to gain better health care benefits and an increase in the pay scale for those with advanced degrees and experience. Perhaps a hundred students at my high school sat out on...Read the Article

A Hilarious Case of GPS Being Used to Track a Stolen Truck

Theft victim uses GPS to nab suspect
By Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/18/2008

The car thieves who took a tow truck from Hartmann Towing early Saturday picked on the wrong guy.

Michael Filius, the night manager at the University City business, was busy cleaning a vehicle inside the garage about 2:45 a.m. Saturday. A tow truck parked outside had been left idling, as is the custom.

Soon, he could no longer hear the noisy diesel truck's idle, so he looked out the window and saw it was missing.

Angry and a little embarrassed, Filius sprang into action. A former California corrections officer, Filius wanted to get the truck back before the thieves stripped it. So he activated the global-positioning system on board the truck to track its movement. The tow company handles calls for AAA, so Filius also got AAA to monitor the GPS and alert him on his cell phone of every location change.

Filius jumped in his Mercury Sable and started tracking the stolen truck. As he headed into north St. Louis, Filius noted that the truck has been motionless for about 3 1/2 minutes. He figured it was abandoned and went to the scene -- at Hamilton and Natural Bridge avenues.

He saw two men with the truck and was surprised they weren't kids. They looked to be in their 30s, he said.

What happened next is in dispute.

Filius said he forced the tow truck over using a "pit maneuver," something he learned attending a sheriff's academy in 1995 in California when he was learning to be a corrections officer. One of the truck's tires blew, and Filius pinned the truck in so it couldn't drive away. When the driver jumped out, Filius said, Filius accidentally drove over the man's shoe, which pinned him there until police arrived.

St. Louis police confirm Filius' account, to a point. They say Filius drove into an alley where a fleeing suspect was trying to climb a fence to escape. When the suspect slipped off the fence, Filius' car accidentally struck him. The suspect suffered bruising from being hit. A police district commander this morning said he wasn't aware the suspect's foot was pinned by Filius' tire.

Either way, police say, the 30-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of tampering and theft. St. Louis police say they're letting University City handle it from here; a captain with University City police said the case is under investigation but had no details on charges. A second car thief got away, apparently with Filius' wallet.

Filius said that, while he was waiting for city police to show up to arrest the car thief, the thief tried to negotiate -- saying he'd return the man's wallet if he'd let him go.

"He talked to me, then he threatened me," said Filius, 36. "He called me by my first name, because he'd seen my license."

Police in University City and St. Louis agree that Filius is lucky he wasn't hurt. They warn victims of car theft to call police, rather than try to find the car on their own.

Filius, meanwhile, said he was simply fed up with being a victim.

"I have to see these little hoodlums every day," he said. "There's a point I'm not going to take it anymore."

DUI Woman Could Get 25 Years for Running Over Surveyors

Three men were working surveying in the area and Green plowed into Mike McAndrews killing him. The other two men were hospitalized and are still in therapy ... Read MORE

The American Surveyor - January 2008

Editorial: The Surveying Pulse Happy New Year! Although it hardly seems possible, this issue marks the beginning of our fifth year in publication. Our heartfelt thanks go out to you, our faithful readers, and to our advertisers for all of your continued support. It is deeply appreciated. In my discussions with ....Read the Article

Point to Point: Compromising Positions Twice recently the idea of surveyors "splitting the difference" on a dispute between them has come across my desk. And twice I have cringed. Those who know me know that I am not usually one to walk away from an argument (to which I plead guilty), but....Read the Article

Rendezvous 2007 His life story simmers in the stew of fable, history, scholarship and legend. At any one point during his life, George Washington was a militarist, diplomat, distiller of spirits, statesman, innovative farmer, legislator, but most importantly to our mutual interests, a surveyor of...Read the Article

The Stray I step into a tunnel of parched woods, dry and still from the absence of rain or dew, and find what I was looking for, an old fence line. In the early light of morning the horizontal line of rusted barbed wire meanders with the weight of fallen trees across its top strand, and...Read the Article

Conference Review: 2007 Leica Geosystems HDS It wasn't that long ago, maybe six years, that I was looking at a peculiar little ad for something called a `scanner'. It was about the size of a dorm room refrigerator, and if I was reading it right, the device promised to be the next big revolution in land surveying. Well....Read the Article

Reconnaissance: When to Write a New Metes and Bounds Description Surveyors all over the country frequently receive requests from the lenders on ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys to write metes and bounds descriptions of surveyed tracts even though the record descriptions are perfectly adequate. For example, the...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Terms of Endearment (and Other Interests) Earlier this year, newspapers carried headlines about a lawsuit initiated by the father of a young man who did not survive the 9/11 collapse of the World Trade Center, in an attempt to claim a share of the $29 million "relatives of victims" fund. What made his suit noteworthy was...Read the Article

Software Review: Topocad 9 from Chaos Systems Topocad from Chaos System comes to us from Sweden. In this day and age more and more municipalities are requesting some form of surveying and engineering work that can be incorporated into their local GIS, so having a program that...Read the Article

Surveying `Da Situation: When Dad Got Heated Up I was with a group of my buddies not too long ago and it usually doesn't take much time before the conversation turns to some of the not so brilliant things we may have done in our youth. I really enjoy those stories and even contribute a few of...Read the Article

Product Review: Nomad by Tripod Data Systems The Nomad is the newest handheld computer from Tripod Data Systems (TDS). It shares a strong resemblance to its predecessor, the Recon, which was first introduced based on a couple of relatively new approaches to field data collection and...Read the Article

GLO Surveying: Fractional Sections and the Relationship of Chains to Acres One of the interesting aspects of the U.S. Public Land Survey System (USPLSS) is the unique relationship between chains and acres. For those who work with the USPLSS, and the records of same, often the Township Plats contain...Read the Article

Feed Back Leininger's Point to Point column "Of Agnew, Surveyors and Kickbacks" [Oct 2007] was a refreshing change of topic not usually found in any of our professional journals. And it is no small irony that we consider ourselves above the political fray. If this...Read the Article

Surveyors Report: Georgia's Water Shortage and a Surveyor's Miscalculations Because of typographical errors in a book of mathematical tabulations and poorly constructed equipment, the nearly infinite supply of water in the Tennessee River is not available to the citizens of the State of Georgia. Residents of Atlanta and...Read the Article

Working alone

Here's something that anybody working alone away from civilization should consider:

Click HERE

Here's the link for SPOT